Dear Valley Airport
Maricopa, Arizona
How we verified this
As of August 2026 the sole Phoenix Deer Valley Airport (DVT) operations talkgroup listed on the Regional Wireless Cooperative (RWC) is marked encrypted ("D Enc") in RadioReference; note the agency name in our record is misspelled "Dear Valley".
Encryption Details
Verified Talkgroup Data
Maricopa County Context
Dear Valley Airport isn't an outlier here: 8 of the 10 public-safety agencies we track in Maricopa County are fully encrypted (80%), so most departments nearby have made the same move.
See every agency we track in Maricopa County → County encryption overview →
What This Means
This agency encrypts all of its radio communications, including routine dispatch. The public, journalists, and even other first responders can't monitor its activity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dear Valley Airport radio encrypted?
Yes — Dear Valley Airport's radio system runs on P25 AES-256 encryption. This agency encrypts all of its radio communications, including routine dispatch. The public, journalists, and even other first responders can't monitor its activity.
Can I listen to Dear Valley Airport on a police scanner?
No. Dear Valley Airport has fully encrypted their radio communications using P25 AES-256. No consumer scanner can decode encrypted transmissions.
Why did Dear Valley Airport encrypt their radio?
Departments typically point to officer safety and operational security. Neither claim tends to come with evidence specific to Maricopa County; what's verifiable is what's lost — journalists can't monitor airport authority activity in real time, and coordination with agencies that stay unencrypted gets harder.
Can Maricopa County reverse the encryption decision?
Yes, and some departments already have. Because encryption here is a choice rather than a technical necessity, the path back runs through the same people who chose it: budget hearings, records requests, and residents who keep asking in public.
What can I do about Dear Valley Airport encryption?
Ask for the paperwork first — the policy that authorised encryption for Dear Valley Airport, and the recordings themselves — because a specific request is harder to wave away than a general complaint. Then take what you learn to a council meeting, and bring others from Maricopa County with you.